Background on Reyes Rodríguez Mondragón
Reyes Rodríguez Mondragón is a magistrate serving on the Tribunal Electoral del Poder Judicial de la Federación (TEPJF), the electoral court responsible for overseeing federal elections in Mexico. His current proposal to annul the election of ministers for the Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (SCJN) stems from concerns about the systematic and widespread distribution of “acordeones,” which are voter guides.
The Issue: Distribution of “Acordeones” and Alleged Electoral Irregularities
Rodríguez Mondragón argues that the systematic distribution of these voter guides, known as “acordeones,” constituted illegal campaign propaganda and violated key constitutional principles such as legal certainty, certeza, and equity in electoral competition. He also claims that this distribution facilitated illicit campaign financing, thus warranting the annulment of the SCJN minister elections.
Key Points from Rodríguez Mondragón’s Proposal
– The distribution of acordeones was a form of prohibited electoral propaganda.
– This irregularity updated the grounds for election nullification based on illicit campaign financing and grave constitutional principle violations.
– There is substantial evidence of acordeones’ existence, circulation, and distribution in 23 Mexican states.
– A correlation exists between the support received by the nine winning SCJN candidacies and electoral participation levels across the country.
Evidence of Irregularities
Rodríguez Mondragón’s proposal highlights several pieces of evidence supporting his claim:
- Candidature Disassociation: In various investigations, candidatures featured in the acordeones distanced themselves from authorship and referred to other documents to disassociate from these materials, implying their existence.
- Impugnation Mediations: In 156 impugnation cases resolved by the Sala Superior, promoventes (those who filed complaints) referred to acordeones’ existence, circulation, or distribution, providing proof that at least suggests their presence in 23 states.
- Physical Evidence: There are 3,188 printed acordeones as physical evidence before the TEPJF.
- Geographical Distribution: The acordeones were dispersed across Mexican states, with a higher concentration in the Federal District, Nuevo León, Estado de México, Puebla, Chihuahua, Jalisco, Guanajuato, Michoacán, and Morelos. Their appearance was more prevalent during the final days of the campaign, the voting period, and the electoral silence.
- Correlation with Electoral Participation: There is a correlation between the support received by the nine winning SCJN candidacies and electoral participation levels. Higher voter turnout in certain districts corresponded to greater support for these candidacies, suggesting a strategy of mobilization through acordeones.
Key Questions and Answers
- What are acordeones? Acordeones are voter guides distributed to inform citizens about candidates and their positions on various issues. In this context, they are accused of being a form of illegal campaign propaganda.
- Why is Reyes Rodríguez Mondragón proposing to annul the SCJN minister elections? He argues that the systematic and widespread distribution of acordeones constituted prohibited electoral propaganda, violated key constitutional principles, and facilitated illicit campaign financing.
- What evidence supports Rodríguez Mondragón’s proposal? Evidence includes candidature disassociation from acordeones, references to them in impugnation mediations, physical evidence of 3,188 printed acordeones, and a correlation between electoral participation levels and support for winning SCJN candidacies.
